Creative England newsletter

Here is the latest Creative England newsletter for my followers to peruse:

Creative England Newsletter: November 2015         Business Loans now available to East & South East of England Creative England's interest-free business loans offer is now available to creative digital businesses in the East and South East of England. Read more   Filmmakers Swarm to Market Trader on Hiive Helping upcoming filmmakers find their way around international markets and festivals, Market Trader on Hiive features a host of online resources. Read more   iWrite - From stage to Silver Screen Creative England has teamed up with various regional theatre companies to train talented writers in writing for the screen. Read more     Congratulations to Caroline Cooper-Charles, new Head of Film We are pleased to announce that Caroline Cooper-Charles, former Senior Film Executive at Creative England, is the new Head of Film. Read more   'Get it Right from a Geniune Site' Run by Creative Content UK, this new campaign urges consumers to respect creative IP and get their content from a genuine source online. Read more     Crew Profile -Camera Operator Our latest Crew Profile features Camera Operator, Rishi Issar. We talk to him about his role on location, in the studio and what it's like to work for companies like the BBC. Read more     You're hired! How to Make the Most of your Apprentice Changing technology and fast-paced business environments mean that traditional ways of learning aren't always best - apprenticeships might just be the answer. Read more   'Imagi-Nation' is the Key to Livingstone's Report Creative England Board member, Ian Livingstone recently published a report on the Creative Industries in the UK. Read more     Screen Tourism Roadshow - Tatton Park Creative England's Production Services have teamed up with Visit England to show regions how filming can boost tourism. Read more Key Dates American Film Market 2015 Nov 4th - Nov 11th   Film industry professionals from all over the world meet in California. Read more   Salford International Media Festival Nov 16th - Nov 19th   A vibrant forum for media stakeholders to debate the current climate and shape the future of the industry. Read more     C21 International Drama Summit Nov 18th - Nov 20th Taking place at BAFTA in London, more than 100 speakers have been confirmed among other sessions, workshops and one-to-ones. Read more   North West Connect Nov 23rd Creative England will be running another networking event for production companies and crew to attend. It will take place at MediaCity, Manchester. Read more Other links we like   Sundance Selects nabs 'Orion' for US Distribution - Screen Bollywood finds fairy-tale locations in Yorkshire What the hell is a 'Strong Female Character' anyway? - The Guardian Why film and TV can't get enough of Britain's classic industrial landscapes - The Guardian Follow us   Funders and Partners:

Inside Out film review

Went to see this today with my son at the Leeds/Bradford Odeon.

IMDB says: After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.



In this Pete Docter (Up, Monsters Inc.) and Ronnie Del Carmen (Brave, Finding Nemo) written (including 8 extra credits) and directed film, Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation, Mean Girls) is the voice of Joy, Phyllis Smith (The Office, Bad Teacher) Sadness, Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Superbad) Fear, Lewis Black (The Daily Show, The Aristocrats) Anger and Mindy Kalin (The Office, Wreck-It Ralph) Disgust, the emotions in the subconscious of Riley (Kaitlyn Dias: Burial, The Shifting.  When her Mom (Diane Lane: Man of Steel, The Perfect Storm) and Dad (Kyle Maclachlan: Twin Peaks, The Doors) move her away, Joy, as her main emotion, tries so hard to keep things normal for her that Riley's core memories get lost, along with Joy and Sadness, and they have to do what it takes to try and get back so that Riley can be happy.



There is an excellent part in the film where Joy and Sadness come across Riley's old imaginary friend Bing Bong (the excellent Richard Kind: Spin City, A Bug's Life) wandering around the memories and you realise that he has long-since been forgotten to be replaced by other 'more important' memories.  The section where the 'old and unimportant' memories are dumped reminded me so much of Toy Story's Jesse and the film had echoes of the Lego Movie in the importance it placed upon the parents influence upon the child, kind of Toy Story meets Lego Movie at the Therapists.



For what is essentially a kids movie, this has some very deep themes.  We are all held hostage in some way by our emotions and memories can be 'coloured' so easily (I loved that the characters were colour-coded, red for rage, blue for sadness etc.) and the main theme of the movie was loss, but I think these may be concepts hard to grasp for the audience of the showing we were at.  Most were quite small and there were lots of tears, at one point one little one wailed 'No' and seemed inconsolable from that point on, why her parent/s didn't take her out I have no idea - I am worried she will need a sit down explanation, or a therapist.  They did not understand to take the joy and the fear and all the other emotions and face them head on, they just knew they were upset at a kids movie.  I was lucky in that my son is older and only really wanted to see the movie because he wanted to understand the characters in his Disney Infinity game.

My recommendation, if your children are sensitive, maybe don't go to the film and if you want to take the risk, take some tissues and a bottle of water with you, and perhaps a counsellor for afterwards.



Trivia: Cars from Cars 2 can be seen throughout the movie, some of Riley's memory balls contain scenes from other Pixar movies including Carl and Ellie's wedding in Up, originally there were 27b emotions but most were cut to make it less complicated (Surprise, Pride and Trust were just some that were lost) and unsurprisingly, a psychologist and other experts were consulted to ensure that Riley's mind worked in a scientifically accurate way, for example, it is believed that short-term memories made during the day are converted into long-term memories as you sleep, which is what happens to Riley in the film.

Tagline: Meet the little voices inside your head.                                                   8/10



#InsideOut  #AmyPoehler  #RichardKind

English PEN hosting a series of talks, Wahaca's Day of the Dead, 7 November

Wahaca's Day of the Dead Festival

Join us for this year's Day of the Dead Festival  As part of our ongoing Mexico focus, English PEN is joining forces with restaurant chain Wahaca at a major festival to mark this year’s Day of the Dead     PEN is delighted to be hosting a series of talks as part of Wahaca’s Day of the Dead, a celebration of Mexican food and culture, at Tobacco Dock on 7 November. As part of the festival, we are bringing an extraordinary range of Mexican and British artists, journalists, musicians and writers together to discuss their work, lives, and influences. Speakers include award-winning journalists Alfredo Corchado, Ioan Grillo, and Sandra Rodriguez Nieto on their experiences of reporting on Mexico’s drug cartels; former President of PEN International Homero Aridjis in conversation with fellow raconteur Simon Schama; Booker Prize winner DBC Pierre and satirist Martin Rowson on our responses to death; musician Camilo Lara and actor Diego Luna on coming of age in Mexico; and Wahaca’s Thomasina Miers in conversation with Mexico’s leading chef Enrique Olvera. Mexico has been a focus for English PEN throughout 2015. We have taken action on behalf of murdered Mexican journalists including José Moisés Sánchez Cerezo and Rubén Espinosa, and have hosted some of Mexico’s leading writers, including Elena Poniatowska, Juan Villoro and PEN Pinter Prize winner Lydia Cacho, here in London. We are honoured to be welcoming many more of Mexico’s finest writers and artists to the UK for what promises to be a fascinating and insightful series of talks. We also hope to highlight the risks our colleagues continue to face on the ground in Mexico, where over 100 journalists have been murdered since 2000 and many others disappeared.  As Homero Aridjis explains: Mexico is a magical country where there are murder victims but no murderers, especially when the victims are members of the press.  But as the U. N. High Commissioner for Human Rights noted on his recent visit to my country, 98% of all crimes in Mexico remain unsolved. There will be a very special ofrenda in tribute to Mexico’s fallen journalists, while 10% of all money spent on food and drink will be donated to the charity Periodistas de a Pie , which works to protect journalists on the ground. Jo Glanville, Director of English PEN said: English PEN is delighted to be welcoming some of Mexico’s finest writers and artists to the UK for what promises to be a fascinating and insightful series of talks. Dia de los Muertos is a festival celebrated across Mexico to celebrate both mortality and life. By joining forces with Wahaca at the Day of the Dead festival, we hope to raise awareness of the work English PEN does to support writers and those passionate about the written word, and to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Mexico. Wahaca co-founder Thomasina Miers said: I am thrilled by our line-up for Day of the Dead this year, a huge celebration of what is great about Mexico, including its food, culture, film, art and music.  We are also hosting some fascinating talks with English PEN looking into the deeper politics and culture of what it is like to be a Mexican at the moment.  This is a country and people whom we care about passionately. Writer DBC Pierre said: As a writer raised in a place that celebrates its dead, it’s perfect symmetry to spend the occasion with the world’s oldest human rights group remembering writers who died from telling the truth. Author Ioan Grillo said: As a Brit who has reported on Mexico for 14 years, it warms me to see Londoners going for tacos, tequila, turntables and talks to celebrate the beauty of, and show solidarity with, a pais hermano. The talks stage is just one of many happenings over the 12-hour festival. Other highlights include supper clubs hosted by Miers and Olvera; live music from Mexrissey, Toy Selectah, Crystal Fighters and many more; Mexican food and drink; a tattoo parlour; and a whole range of other delights. Get your tickets here To celebrate this year’s Day of the Dead, Wahaca are encouraging people to take to social media to remember their cultural icons who deserve to be celebrated in death. By posting a photo and tagging #WahacaDOTD – entrants will be in with a chance of winning a VIP experience at the festival, plus £250 of Wahaca vouchers. Full line-up here

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